Shangyuan Festival is today's Lantern Festival, is a festival for secular people to enjoy lanterns, the emperor pays attention to frugality, does not like extravagance and luxury, so the Lantern Festival in the early years of the Tianwu Dynasty is far less prosperous and grand than in later generations.

But this year, Yang Xiong made an exception and allowed the people to organize the lantern festival spontaneously, coupled with the subsidence of the war in Goryeo, the price of goods fell, benefiting the people's livelihood, which made the people of the capital particularly interested, and also made this year's Shangyuan Lantern Festival extraordinarily grand.

As early as five days ago, three main lantern viewing places began to be arranged, one is Liren City, one is the metropolitan city, and then there is Suzaku Street, the folk lantern festival, the government does not intervene, the government's task is to maintain the order of the lantern festival.

Families, merchants, schools, monasteries, princes, and nobles are the main force of the lantern festival, and in the capital, the slightly powerful families will put down the lampstand to show the existence of the family, and they want to let the lantern admirers know the existence of their family.

The merchants, on the other hand, want profit, and they will take advantage of the lantern festival to make another lantern fortune, and all kinds of wonderful lanterns are just props for them to attract guests.

The lanterns in schools and monasteries are actually a kind of self-expansion, schools hope to recruit more students, and monasteries hope to attract more pilgrims.

In fact, to put it bluntly, the Shangyuan Lantern Festival is also a platform for fame and fortune, the world is bustling, all for fame, and the world is bustling, all for profit.

And the ones who really enjoy happiness are those nameless and profitless ordinary people, who just want to watch the lanterns.

As soon as it was dark, Niuniu impatiently knocked on Yuanqing's door, they no longer lived in Yang's Mansion, but lived in an alley called Lingyi Lane a hundred steps away from Yang's Mansion, they were in the innermost part of the alley, it was a small house covering an area of one acre and four points.

There are not many rooms in the house, there are only seven rooms in total, it is a 'say' character structure, two large courtyards before and after, it is a typical courtyard, in the words of Aunt Liu, you can raise chickens in the front, you can grow vegetables in the back, in the eyes of Yuanba and Niuniu, but you can practice knives in the front, and you can shoot arrows in the back.

But what Shen Qiuniang took a fancy to at a glance were two big trees, the front was a hundred-year-old laurel, and the back was a flourishing and dense old apricot tree, two old trees made this house full of vitality.

But to Shen Qiuniang's surprise, they didn't spend money on this house, but the Yang Mansion had already bought it and gave it to their mother and daughter as a reward for raising Yuanba for seven years.

She doesn't want this kind of reward, she doesn't raise Yuanba for the sake of repayment, it's just that her heart is full of bitterness, the swan always has hard wings, fluttering wings and flying high, the night she learned that Yuanba was about to go to the Turks, she didn't sleep all night, Yuanba went, I don't know what year and month to come back?

She is sad and reluctant that Yuanba is about to leave, but she is also proud of his decision, her child has finally grown up and will spread her wings alone to meet the test of wind and rain.

She decided to live a good life and not let herself and Niuniu become the concern of Yuanba.

Shen Qiuniang didn't show too much sadness, but changed his tricks every day to make his favorite dishes for Yuanba, today is the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, tonight the lanterns will enter the climax, Shen Qiuniang specially cooked early, ready to take the two children out early to watch the lanterns.

"Brother Yuanba, okay, no!"

Niuniu impatiently knocked on the door of Yuanba's room, she was dressed very beautifully today, wearing her only satin long skirt, wearing a thick undergarment, her long black hair was combed into two braids, and circled into double rings, her skin was snow-white, and her mother specially painted her light makeup, pasted eight silk flowers, and made her look pretty, floating and green.

Although her figure and dress should be a young girl, her every move is still full of childishness, she is like a rabbit with a burning tail, constantly jumping and knocking on the door of Yuanba, complaining all over the house.

"What the hell are you doing? Aren't you wearing makeup?"

In the room, Yuan Ba was settling accounts, he was going to go on an expedition, I don't know if he would come back in two or three years, he had to arrange the life of his aunt and Niuniu, they had a total of thirty taels of gold and two hundred yuan of savings, and spent a hundred dollars to buy furniture and various household items.

In addition, after Yang Xuanting became the steward of the Yang Mansion, according to the clan rules, the minimum of ten hangings a month for the concubine was paid, and the monthly money that lacked Yuanba for seven years was made up to him at one time, a total of 600 hangings.

In this way, they have thirty taels of gold and seven hundred hanging money in their hands, and this money will be left to his aunt and Niuniu, he has considered that even if Niuniu's medicine money and living expenses are combined, this money is enough for them to use themselves.

At the same time, Shen Qiuniang found a very good errand, her skills in concocting medicine and making pills were very good, Yang Xuanting introduced her to Tzu Chi Tang, the largest pharmacy in the capital, to be a medicine lady, and she could earn fifteen yuan a month, so that their mother and daughter's life was really worry-free.

According to Yuanba's idea, it is best to press the bottom of the box with thirty taels of gold, in case of life-saving in troubled times, and the savings of seven hundred hanging money and the monthly salary of the aunt can also allow their mother and daughter to live a good life, and he will also take care of Yang Xuanting to care about the lives of their mother and daughter from time to time.

These must be arranged one by one before he sets out on the expedition, so that he can rest assured that he will march north.

"Yuanba, are you alright? "This is the aunt is also urging him.

"Alright!

Yuan Ba put away the paper for settling accounts, casually inserted a dagger into his leather boots, and opened the door and went out.

Shen Qiuniang is still wearing her cloth skirt, her face is not powdered, she is still dignified and beautiful, her temperament is gentle and elegant, she has just burned paper for her husband, and tears are still stained in the corners of her eyes.

Niuniu pouted unhappily, "Brother Yuanba, I told you not to come out for a long time, and my mother called you to come out, obviously bullying the soft and afraid of the hard." ”

Shen Qiuniang smiled and bent her fingers and knocked on her daughter's head, "What nonsense, when did your mother get hard?"

Niuniu hugged her head and shrunk her neck, "Mother, aren't your finger joints hard?"

Yuan Ba hurriedly scratched his head and smiled: "I was practicing just now, at the last moment, so I was delayed, let's go! ”

"Brother Yuanba, generally speaking, the girl is pregnant with spring!"

Niuniu's face suddenly turned red, and she was suddenly ashamed and anxious, and grabbed Yuanba, "You dead bull head, you deliberately went around me again, see if I don't strangle you!"

Yuan Ba hugged his head and fled, shouting as he ran: "Auntie, she thinks crookedly, don't blame me!"

"You still dare to talk nonsense!"

The two ran out of the house, Shen Qiuniang smiled and watched them run away, she locked the courtyard door, and the family happily looked at the lights.

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At the beginning of night, Daxing City is already brightly lit and crowded, and hundreds of thousands of people in the capital go out to watch the lanterns with their wives and children.

The three main lines of the capital's lantern viewing, Suzaku Street, Metropolis City, and Liren City are already brightly lit at this time, shining like daylight, if you look down from the sky, the whole Daxing City will appear a huge bright face, Metropolis City, Liren City is a pair of eyes, and Suzaku Street is a long nose, particularly spectacular.

Last year, Shen Qiuniang took her two children to visit Suzaku Street, and this year they have already decided to visit the lanterns in the metropolis.

The metropolis is also a sea of people at this time, people are crowded, people are crowded, on both sides of the road are all kinds of lanterns, giant ship lights, peony lights, children worship Guanyin, Tiannu scattered lanterns, birthday lights, double ox ploughing field lights, Chang'e moon lanterns, etc., etc., all kinds of lanterns are exquisitely shaped, lifelike, under the light reflection, the brilliance is dazzling, Ambilight, it is beautiful, the whole city seems to have become a sea of lanterns and people, all people are immersed in the joy of the festival.

Groups of children carrying lanterns passed through the cracks in the crowd, and groups of girls also held hands, standing in front of the beautiful women's lamps for a while to comment, and then gathered in front of the stalls selling small ornaments, and then ran through the crowd, and laughter flowed all the way.

In a small stall, Yuan Ba is accompanying Niuniu to buy a headdress, although the hairpin made of red copper is not as shining as the golden hairpin, but it is also exquisite, which is amazing.

Although Yuan Ba had long planned to buy a golden hairpin for Niuniu and her aunt, she had to give up under the resolute opposition of her aunt, Niuniu was unhappy for a day, she had been looking forward to the golden hairpin for several years, but after all, she was still a child, so many exquisite headdresses in front of her dazzled her, and she had long forgotten her expectations for the golden hairpin.

"Brother Yuanba, which one do you think I should buy?" Niuniu already had more than a dozen copper hairpins in her hand, and she wanted each one, but her mother only allowed her to buy one, and she was so anxious that she shouted.

"Little sister, this one is the best!"

Without waiting for Yuanba to react, the woman who sold the hairpin had already picked out one from her hand, which was a double phoenix playing with pearl hairpins, and two lifelike phoenixes spread their wings head-on, and in front of them was a large soybean pearl, which was exquisitely made.

"Auntie, I want this. This double phoenix hairpin was her first sight, and she liked it very much.

"Little sister, I'll help you put it on. ”

The hairpin seller took the hairpin and plugged it in her hair, "What black hair!" She praised from the bottom of her heart.

The hairpin seller glanced at Yuan Ba, and whispered in Niuniu's ear and laughed: "Little sister, you also have to buy a personal heart lock for your lover's brother, so that his heart will be locked forever." ”

The hairpin seller has been in love for a long time, she has long seen that they are not brothers and sisters, how can brothers and sisters call their brothers with their names, Niuniu's face turned red, and even her neck was red.

"Auntie, don't talk nonsense, he's my brother. ”

Although his mouth was twisted, his eyes were secretly aimed at a pile of copper heart guards next to him.

"Auntie, settle accounts here. ”

Several other girls also bought a few pieces of jewelry, to settle the account, the hairpin woman hurriedly went over to settle the account for them, taking advantage of this time, Niu Niu has picked out a general lock engraved with 'Heaven Protection, Hundred Battles Victory' from a pile of copper locks, this is only the most suitable for Yuanqing, and then she picked a colorful phoenix hairpin for her mother.

"Niuniu, do you fancy it?" Yuan Ba ran up and asked with a smile.

He was attracted by a bright light wheel just now, and he didn't notice that Niuniu's mind had quietly changed.

"Alright!

Niuniu hurriedly pinched a few pieces of jewelry to prevent him from seeing it, and urged Yuanba, "You go to find your mother, don't get lost, I'll pay here." ”

"Auntie was still over there just now, I'll go take a look. ”

Yuanba ran quickly, and the hairpin seller settled the account and turned around again, and asked with a smile: "Little sister, have you made a choice?"

"Okay, that's all. ”

Her palms were spread out, two hairpins, one copper lock, her face was as red as a persimmon, and her voice was lower than that of a mosquito, "Auntie, how much?"

"Sixty bucks in total!"

When the hairpin seller saw the copper lock in her hand, she smiled knowingly, so ashamed that Niuniu was so embarrassed that she hurriedly opened her handbag and put three copper ornaments in it, and her pounding heart calmed down a little, she grabbed a few handfuls of money, hurriedly counted them, and handed them to the hairpin seller, "Auntie, give!"

"Little sister, the money is just right!"

When the hairpin seller saw that Niuniu was leaving, she stopped her again, "Little sister!"

"Auntie, is there anything else?"

The hairpin seller took out two bronze rings and handed them to her with a smile, "This is the spirit rhino ring, for you and your lover's brother." ”

"Thank you, Auntie!"

Niuniu pinched the ring, like a rabbit with a burned tail, ran into the crowd and disappeared, the hairpin seller saw her ashamed and cute, with a warm smile in her eyes, and another little lady grew up.

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"Niuniu, I was about to look for you. ”

Yuan Ba ran head-on, grabbed her hand and ran back, "Baixi is about to parade, let's go!"

Niuniu's delicate and white hand has been grabbed by Yuan Ba since she was three years old, and she has never felt anything, but today she felt for the first time that Yuan Ba's brother's hand was so warm and powerful.

She was ashamed and nervous, and gradually, her heart was filled with a kind of happiness, and she ran side by side with him like a bird, and the two of them held hands and ran to the brightest place in the distance.

In the distance, a team of hundred opera artists is marching, some of them are stepping on stilts, some are spitting clouds and mist, sometimes a hundred birds are facing the phoenix, and sometimes a group of beasts are making spring, causing a thunderous applause and cheers from the people watching the lanterns on both sides.

This is the night of the 19th year of the founding of the Yuan Dynasty, this year the Yuan Ba has a thousand miles in mind, but Niuniu is in love, and the dynasty has reached the time when the force is the strongest.